CODEON, Quantum Photonics Merge

JESSUP, Md., March 5 -- Optical component companies CODEON and Quantum Photonics announced today they have completed their merger and formed a new company, Covega Corp., which has raised $17 million in first-round financing.

Robert Harvey, former CEO of CODEON, has been named CEO of Covega, and Dan Petrescu, who was CEO of Quantum Photonics, will be president. Harvey said production and manufacturing operations of both companies will be consolidated into one facility. Covega's headquarters will be located in Jessup.

Covega will provide optical components, modules and subsystems to the telecommunications, data communications, military and cable television industries. Petrescu said, "The combination of CODEON's lithium niobate modulation technology and Quantum Photonics' indium phosphide technology, coupled with a single state-of-the-art wafer fabrication and device packaging facility, will enable Covega to develop low-cost, high-performance solutions for the telecom, datacom and CATV markets."

Investors include New Enterprise Associates, OCG Ventures, Boulder Ventures, Core Capital Partners, EDB Ventures, Intersouth Partners, Kinetic Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital.

For more information, visit: www.codeoncorp.com or www.quantumphotonics.com